Larry Hama Interview - Answers To Your Questions!

Below is a list of questions that were submitted to Mr. Hama.

Unfortunately, Mr. Hama is bound to many Non-Disclosure agreements, so many questions that were submitted could not be answered. These include questions on the upcoming Live Action Movie, along with the new comic series.

Regardless, HissTank.com would like to thank Mr. Hama for taking time out of his schedule to answer your questions. There's a reason that the man is a legend..and it's the little things like this that prove why.

So, with that said, on to the Q&A session!


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HT: You've said that Snake Eyes and Destro and a few others were your favorite characters, but what were your favorite moments?

LH: The ones I got to draw: #21 and #26. I also liked the White Clown, the Blind Master and Billy.


HT: If the series hadn't been discontinued in the first place, where would you have liked to have gone with it?

LH: I have no idea. But, as I have said numerous times before, I never know where ANY given ISSUE is going until I get to the last page. This is why there were never any "coming attractions" or previews during the entire 151 issue run. The story development is up to the characters, not dictated by plot.


HT: What do you think of characters created by DDP such as the female Doc, Wraith, the Red Shadows and Scanner?

LH: I haven't read any of the DDP comics that those characters appeared in. I've never read any issues of Wolverine, Avengers or Batman after I stopped writing them. Most of my comics reading consists of going back over my Carl Barks collection. I am mainly a duck man.


HT: What is your personal favorite piece of work you have done?

LH: The Nth Man.


HT: Also, from where did you get the inspiration to write the creation of Cobra Island story-arc? It was my favourite as a child!

LH: The self-contained little island "kingdom" was a personal childhood fantasy of mine, so you might say that everything was already developed when I got to it.


HT: With the development of this property that you're so closely linked to as a big-budget blockbuster, and the impending rush of fanboys and their minutiae that it will bring, is there ever a point where you just feel like saying "Hey guys, they are just cool action figures, let's enjoy them for what they are"?

LH: But they're not just action figures to me. They are people I have known.


HT: Was there ever a time when a new character, vehicle, playset idea actually inspired your story in a new and better direction?

LH: Probably happened all the time. I can't remember specifics. If you held up figures and vehicles and playsets in front of me one by one, I could probably tell you some specifics, but the question is way too general.


HT: Given the extraordinary long legs of this particular property, what do you as a writer/creator do to keep your more recent contributions fresh and relevant?

LH: I don't do anything consciously. I don't have plans. I don't know what is on page two until I do page one. When editors ask me to plan out arcs, I get awfully unproductive for weeks. I try to explain that I can physically write two or three scripts in the time I would spend fretting over how to construct a four-issue arc (and I wouldn't be able to construct the arc in the end, anyway-- (the few times I was actually forced to do this, I couldn't stick to what I had planned out, because the characters wouldn't let me. They just want to go in their own directions.)


HT: Who would win in a fight, Bucky O'Hare or Snake Eyes?

LH: Two different universes. That's like putting The Beagle Boys up against Ming the Merciless.


HT: Did you ever think you would be still answering questions about G.I Joe 25 years later?

LH: No.


HT: While the story has taken a much more realistic turn, do you feel it has lost something in the process? Is a direction you would have ultimately ended up taking as well?

LH: What do you call realistic? What do you call adult?

I spent years trying to convince comic book editors that Michael Golden was a genius. They all kept saying he drew the heads too big, and his work looked too "cartoony." Marvel got tons of negative letters after the Afghanistan story in the second yearbook. I thought it was brilliant. The same people who didn't like Michael's work probably didn't care for Alex Toth either. As you can gather, i really get peeved when people throw around the word "realistic" in regards to comics.


HT: Are we going to see a 25th Anniversary Larry Hama figure? You deserve one.

LH: I hope not. I just retell and pass along the lore of soldiers. "Virtus est militus decus."


HT: Back in 1998, in a toyfare interview, Snake Eyes was ranked above Storm Shadow as one of your top 10 favorite characters. 10 years later, do you still like him better than Storm Shadow?

LH: In the comics I wrote, Storm Shadow was a more complex character. I am told that in the animated series (never saw an entire episode) he was just a one-dimensional bad-guy. Perhaps he doesn't travel well. I suppose, neither does Destro. I don't remember giving the favorite characters numerical preferences. If I did, it's because I frequently just make stuff up as I go in these interviews. Just like I am doing right now. (BTW, I am not being facetious here...)


HT: Which year do you feel produced the best batch of characters?

LH: Best? I try not to think of my friends in those terms...


HT: What are your thoughts on the fact that in the 80's the USA and Canada had the same exposure to the gi joe line (both had the exact same products at the same time), unlike today which is very limited in Canada.

LH: i wasn't aware of this until last month.


HT: Why did scarface (in the new comic pack) show up in a comic after he was already dead in the marvel run?

LH: Nobody is ever really dead in a comic. Wasn't Captain America found frozen in an iceberg? (Bucky STAYED dead, though...)


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There you have it, Tankers!

Mr. Hama, our hats off to you, Sir! Thanks again!

thats a great interview.

Hama is the man! and I love the answer he gave about these characters being "his friends". It's refreshing to see a creator that passionate about their characters. Many of the joe characters are based on guys that he served with in 'Nam (including Snake-eyes).
He is also dead right on the Michael Golden comment. The guy is amazing!
Good show Larry

Without going in to detail, I really enjoyed speaking with Mr. Hama. He's very straight forward (will tell you how it is, not how it might be).

I have a deep respect for the Gentleman and hope to have the opportunity to speak with him again.

It's not every day where you can "sit down" with the guy who shaped your imagination as a child (other than my Dad, of course).

Originally Posted by LH

HT: What is your personal favorite piece of work you have done?

LH: The Nth Man.

hell, yeah, as it should be. i won this off ebay a year or 2 back and was ASTONISHED how ahead of it's time it was. the first 4 issues are some of the best comics ever. (and i LOVE the cheeky character names.

Originally Posted by LH

HT: Why did scarface (in the new comic pack) show up in a comic after he was already dead in the marvel run?

LH: Nobody is ever really dead in a comic. Wasn't Captain America found frozen in an iceberg? (Bucky STAYED dead, though...)

apparently larry wasn't joking when he said he doesn't read other comics!
;)

Originally Posted by swafus

He is also dead right on the Michael Golden comment. The guy is amazing!

absolutely!

Originally Posted by C.I.A.D.

HT: Was there ever a time when a new character, vehicle, playset idea actually inspired your story in a new and better direction?

LH: Probably happened all the time. I can't remember specifics. If you held up figures and vehicles and playsets in front of me one by one, I could probably tell you some specifics, but the question is way too general.

Nice to see my question asked. Too bad it got edited so much he couldn't answer it. I was trying to ask about Hasbro's influence on the comics in a positive way. I guess I won't be trying to do that again.

nothing at all about the movie due to disclosure reasons. If he didn't watch the cartoon, what makes you or I think he is going ot watch the movie. I hope hollywood doesn't butcher this too bad, I assume LH's no response on these is a way of saying he's not happy with it

Cool interview. When I was a kid, I got to meet Mr. Hama at a comic shop signing and got a bunch of Joe comics signed. It is refreshing to see that he takes the characters so seriously-- a lot of creative people like to say that they don't.

I wonder if it's telling that Larry has a non-disclosure agreement that prevents him from talking about the new comic series-- I wonder if that means that he will be involved?...

very interesting read. thanks for the Q&A, hope to see some more in the future.